He is Risen—But Are We?

The breathless excitement of Easter, or what some call Resurrection Day, quickly fades as the busyness of life re-asserts its presence in our lives. Come Monday we again face traffic, overdue reports, childcare, taxes, and the general malaise of the mundane, day-to-day grind. As the open tomb lingers on the outskirts of our consciousness, it’s that first cup of coffee that dominates our first thoughts. 

Our minds become dulled by daily repetition and lulled by comfort.  The reality of the resurrection and its supreme significance is fogged over by Facebook, cable TV, and instant messaging.  Suddenly, we find ourselves lacking joy, emptied of purpose and distant from God. Little did we recognize the ever-so-stealthy schemes of the enemy, luring us into a trap of convenience and predictability.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.  God never intended it to be this way.  

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full,” said Jesus (John 10:10b). Jesus is teaching us that life in Him is meant to be filled with vitality, excitement, and purpose.  One of my study Bibles states that Jesus calls us “to a rich, full, joyful life, one overflowing with meaningful activities under the personal favor and blessing of God and in continual fellowship with his people” (ESV Study Bible).  This sounds anything but mundane and raises one looming question:

How do we live this way every day? What is the connector between us and God?

Jesus, after teaching about not worrying over everyday things, then said:

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). The Greek word for ‘seek’ means to ‘strive after’ or ‘pursue’; thus, we are to strive after the kingdom of God before we strive for anything else.

But how?  I suggest two things: 1) prayer. Pray upon awakening in the morning, even if it’s just to get up to go to the bathroom—pray to your Heavenly Father. Then set a time to intentionally sit quietly and seek the Lord in prayer; for me first thing in the morning works best and it seems to model what Jesus did on a daily basis, but each Christ-follower must find which time of the day is best for their clarity of mind with minimal distractions.

2) Is reading the Scripture. I don’t mean to just read it to satisfy a devotional plan or to place a check mark in a to-do box, but really read the Scripture. Ask God to speak to you through the words you are reading, because they are living and active (see Hebrews 4:12).

Another key to learning to live the life that Jesus has called us to is obedience:

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:1-3).

Our culture is rife with rebellion and rampant individualism, obedience is no longer a highly touted character trait; but God looks very favorably on obedience.  What’s more, obedience to God is not burdensome. That may shock you if you’ve been raised in works-oriented families or churches—where your worth is based on what you do rather than who you are—but really reading Scripture will reveal a loving Father, not a lording task master.

Take for instance the following:

“And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, ‘Which commandment is the most important of all?’

“Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these: (Mark 12:28-31).

What is Jesus calling us to do? Love.  Now before you go thinking that Jesus was all mamby-pamby, this is the same man that came into the temple where merchants and purchasers were transacting business. There were a lot of people, perhaps hundreds. Even so, this multitude was defiling the temple of God and Jesus cleansed the temple by driving them all out of the temple and yelling after them, “It is written, my house will be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers” (Matthew 21:13). That is certainly no wimp in my book. So, in regard to love, it is clear that at times love has teeth in it and is therefore not always hand-holding, Kumbaya mushy stuff but is instead, a realistic tapestry of human emotion and compassion rolled into action.

So one vital principle to keeping the essence of Easter alive is understanding and living the truth that we are to seek God first and foremost above anything else. This principle entails prayer, Scripture reading, and obedience.

Thanksgiving Re-set

…for I am not always thankful even though I have so much to be thankful for.   How about you?  Does thankfulness just roll out of your pores like sweat at mile 20 of a marathon or do you struggle with it like when your mother made you eat beets? 

Honestly, as silly as it sounds, I sometimes struggle with it.  The big question is why?  The answer, of course, is quite complicated; but simply put, I have been fooled by the lure of the so-called American Dream—more stuff means a better status which means more joy.  Poppycock; what nonsense to think that inanimate stuff (which really means “junk”) will bring true and lasting joy. 

First John 1:3b-4 has this to say about joy: 

And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.

True joy, which is a sense of unflappable inner happiness, comes from an honest and vital relationship with God by way of Jesus Christ.  No Christ, no joy. Expressing this relationship to others cements the joy deep in our soul. 

So as Thanksgiving 2011 is now in our rearview mirror, we can still be thankful because of Jesus Christ.  I know a bold statement like this turns a lot of people off, that’s why the message of Christ is so watered down.  But stop and think about it, why are so many people turned off by the things of Christ? People are often turned off to Christ, and thus miss the joy in Christ, because so many Christ-followers do a less than inspiring job of exhibiting Christ.  So much of “Christian engagement” nowadays is really nothing more than stooping to joyless and combative blame-shifting. 

But as we recall the words of Jesus, we begin to realize His message was quite different:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it:  Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-38).

Pondering these words deeply, I find conviction creeping up over my heart.  I begin realizing that my “love meter” for both God and man registers too often on the “low” side. No wonder I struggle with thanksgiving, I’ve blocked God’s joy in my soul by allowing my ‘love tank’ to run too close to empty.

So where does Thanksgiving really begin?  It begins with love.  And where does love begin?  Love begins with God:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16, emphasis mine).

Triumphal Entry: A Personal Reflection

As Jesus entered Jerusalem on a colt, His disciples celebrated with great rejoicing.  They even laid their own coats or cut down palm branches to line the path the colt was taking into town.  The air was electric as the people rejoiced and praised God “for all the mighty works they had seen” (Luke 19:37 ESV). And yet only a few short days later they were reviling Him and calling for His crucifixion. 

The fickleness of the human heart seems to sometimes verge on the insane, one day there is great celebration for a man’s life but a few short days later the same celebrants are now calling for his execution.  There is much psychological and theological fodder in just this one record, but I’m concerned for how my own heart exhibits the same fickleness. 

Today my take-away from this record is a stark reminder of how I had once celebrated the entry of Jesus into my heart and life; but now, many years later I have to confess that over time that joy has been tarnished, if not completely supplanted, by the cares and concerns of this life.  As the psalmist wrote, I also lament, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit” (Psalm 51:12 NKJV). 

I must continue reminding myself of the great works God has already wrought in my life. Even though bills increase while my pay decreases, God is still sovereign.  Even though my children cause worry I’ve never encountered before, God is the Father of all of us and will not leave nor forsake us.  While my finite perspective is indeed limited and often frustrated, God’s perspective is vaster than the human mind can begin to comprehend. 

So on this Palm Sunday 2011, my reflection and prayer is to have joy restored in my soul because that’s what I see as lacking in our culture and in my life.  We have more luxuries than at any other time in our history, yet life seems joyless and gray.  But the joy that comes from God will renew our vigor for living and will draw people to Jesus as the one antidote to the very prevalent fear and worry permeating our culture. 

May the triumphal entry of Jesus into our hearts and lives grow day by day. 

Personal Prayer

“Lord, may my joy be full,

may my peace be deep,

may my love be real,

and may I walk in the personal power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.”

I pray this every day, regardless of my circumstances.  My current trials seem trivial when compared to the many other tragedies in the world today; but still, my family and I are enduring a couple of challenging trials.  But even so, I still pray the above prayer. And there are pertinent Scriptural references for each item:

·         Joy:  1 John 1:4 and Galatians 5:22.

·         Peace:  Philippians 4:7 and Galatians 5:22

·         Love:  1 John 4:7 & 11 and Galatians 5:22

·         Indwelling Holy Spirit:  Ephesians 6:10.

Granted, there are several other pertinent references, but I want to give a brief list for now.

I think some may consider praying the same prayer daily, or even at various times throughout the day, to be nothing but rote recitation or vain babbling. That may be so for some folks but not for me because this particular prayer reminds me that God is always with me regardless of how I feel or what my circumstances are.  What’s more, it also reminds me that only by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit will I actually realize and then exude genuine joy, peace, and love. Without the Holy Spirit working in my life, these items will be merely surface-level veneers to be ripped away when the storms of trials assail my soul.

But when I really seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, He is always there to comfort me. Another good point to remember is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is available to all who believe in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead (see Romans 10:9 for more on how to be saved).

What prayers are meaningful to you?  Feel free to post them via the comments portion of this post, perhaps your prayer will be the one that touches someone else’s soul!